Mako Ghosts
by Doc2
Summary: Nine years have passed. The planets heros have each gone thier seperate ways, some back to their roots, others forged new lives for themselves. However, a new crisis is at hand, and it will bring each and every one of them together to stop the evil befo
1. Intro & Like Leaves to the Wind

A brief note: This story takes place several years after the end of FFVII, and I'm going to assume you know what happens.   
  
  
Mako Ghosts  
by E.T. Kornahauser  
Introduction  
  
When it comes time for friends, comrades, and schoolmates to part, there is always a feeling of terrible pain in everyones heart. That one last look as they round the corner, or thier airship finally dissappears behind the horizan, makes our insides cring and out eyes spill over with tears. It doesn't matter how you feel about them now, eventually, you'll miss everybody.  
Such was in the case here. When the battle was done, and the evil that had plauged the planet for so long was vanquished, no one knew what to do. In fact, everyone aboard the Highwind stood there motionless as they watched the action unfold beneath them like an opening book. It had besieged their eyes, and they could do nothing but gaze as Holy pushed back the evil that dwelled the Midgar. After nearly an hour of watching, Cid gasped out and order to pull back and land somewhere safe. Cloud stood there, firm and steady on the deck. He was waiting and watching for what would never come.  
Aeris.  
  
Chapter One  
Like Leaves to the Wind  
  
Since that day, the crew of the Highwind, Avalanche, and other assorted rouges slowly and sadly departed. It was like scatering leaves to the wind. Each and every one went their seperate ways. Some went back home, and others, who had no home, traveled to some place they though they would live out the rest of their lives peacfully in. They all considered they'd never see each other again.  
Red XIII traveled back home to Cosmo Canyon. He was greeted with a heros welcome.  
"There's the cat that saved the world!" said a man as he strolled calmly into town.  
"Did you give them hell, you old tiger, you?" said another.  
"Can I have your autograph, Mister?" asked a young boy.  
He walked into town with his head (and his tail) held up proudly. Having succsessfully taken a great part in saving the world, he thought he deserved it.  
Vincent, after deciding not to go back and spend another decade in a crampt coffin, settled atop the cliff above Lucrecias Cave. He built himself a small house, and carved out a small path down the side of the cliff to the cave entrence. Every day, he'd journey down there to 'meet' with his wife. He no longer cried himself to sleep, no longer mourned he death, at least in such a dramatic way. All he did was pay homage to her, and love her with all his heart.  
Cid, after getting a taste of the air again, decided to leave the ground perminantly! He and his wife, Shera, moved their belongings unto the great airship. They turned the old Chocobo pen into a bed room, and most of the central hall into a living room, and what was left was turned into a kitchen. As for the meeting room, they just remodeled it and turned in into a dining room.  
Yuffie moved back to Wutang. Her father was mildy upset she hadn't stolen any materia from her so called 'friends,' but he soon got over it. Her days of thieft and robbery were over, and she became Wutangs first Materia Expert. She opened up a shop at the base of the mountains. With it, she sold and traded all sorts of materia to travelers, and spent hours telling her cutomers about how she had saved the world from destruction. Most, after hearing what she was like, tried to get in and out of the store as quickly as possible!  
Baret moved back home to North Corel with his daughter, Marlene. Now, after prooving he was a hero, the people forgave him. With new supplies shipped in from Nibelheim, they were able to rebuild to town. Barret was elected mayor of the small ex-coal mining town, and his first decree was the re-establishment of the mines. Withen a few years, North Corel would be just as it was before!  
Cait Sith gave up his life as a fourtune teller at The Gold Saucer, and bought Rufas's old apartment with his life savings. No one would have thought he had earned that much as a simple entertainer, but he did, and he put it to good use. The house suited him very nicley, and he wondered why old Rufas would have even considered selling it!  
Cloud eventually did marry Tifa, though most, including Cloud himself, considered it more of a friendship marriage instead of a true love marriage. Not that Tifa didn't mean anything to Cloud, in fact, quite the opposite. Aeris was, and always would be, his true love, but Tifa was his best friend. The new couple settled atop the old Shina building in destroyed. Now that there was nothing to obstruct it, green vegitation had started to grow over the old buildings. Though there were still some people living in one section of the city that had been partially rebuilt, the roof, the building, and the city was all thiers. Cloud thought they'd eventually rebuild the whole city, just one block at a time. Just as long as didn't turn on those Mako reactors again, it was fine with him.  
Nine years have passed since that day when the world was saved. The planets heros have each gone thier seperate ways, some back to their roots, others forged new lives for themselves. However, a new crisis is at hand, and it will bring each and every one of them together to stop the evil before grow to big to be stopped! 


	2. Two Missing Children

Chapter Two  
Two Missing Children  
  
"What is it, dear?"  
Cloud turned around from the great window that over looked the Western plains that surrounded Midgar.. Tifa was standing there, her dressing gown glimering in the evening light.  
"Oh, nothing," said Cloud, sighing as he spoke, "I was just thinking..."  
"About what?" Tifa asked as she sat on the bed.  
"Barret, Cid, Vincet, all of the old team. It's been almost a decade since we've actually seen them. Don't you think that's a little long? We don't even know if they're alive! For crying out loud, they could have dropped dead five years ago and we'd be none the wiser!"  
"Oh, you worry to much," laughed Tifa, "I'm sure they're all fine. Come here and sit next to me, take a load off your feet."  
"I'm sure they're fine too, but nine years is long time to be apart!" Cloud sat down next to Tifa on the foot of the bed. "I just want to see them again. I want it to be like old times again, you know what I mean?"  
"Yeah, I do."  
They both sat there, staring out emense window. Cloud had his eyes fixed on the tiny speck on the horizan line that was Kalm Town. He hadn't been there for years either. Not that he was unhappy living here with his family, but the world beckoned him, and he missed his friends. Cloud could almost hear the world calling to him to saddle up and set out again on new adventures. The evil was gone, but the ambition was still there, and still strong.  
"Well," said Cloud at last, putting hims arm around Tifas shoulder, "let's turn in, all right, hon? It's been a long day today."  
"Yeah," replied Tifa," I'll just go tuck the kids in."  
When she tried to stand up, Cloud put a hand on her shoulder.  
"I'll do it, it's been a while since I have anyway," spoke Cloud reverently. "I'm sure they'll want a story, and I've got a lot of those."  
"OK, honey," said Tifa. Cloud turned and left the bed room. With a lot of effort they had managed to convert the whole top floor of the Shinra building into a luxruious penthouse. There were lush green plants everywhere, and the furniture was imported from Nibelheim. Nibelheim had become a major exporter nowadays with everything from teacups to tractors. He had heard from one of the people in the small part of Midgar that had been rebuilt that some supplies had been shipped to North Corel. Maybe Barret was fixing up the town.  
Cloud figured Zack and Aeris, his son and daughter, would be in their beds, hopping up and down or talking about how much fun they had had that that and what they would do tommarow. Chuckling to himself, he opened the small door and entered their room.  
"All right, kids, time to...."  
The room was empty.  
Cloud stared about the small room. Two beds, a large window like they had, a large toy chest in the center, numberous colorful drawings on the walls, and a two mirrors on the wall. With the exception the lack of occupants, the room seemed totally normal to him. Cloud thought that maybe they were in kitchen stealing a cookie or in the living playing with some toys. He left the room and headed the direction of the kitchen.  
There was no sign of them in the kitchen, nor a sign that they had ever beent here (all the cookies were still in place). The living room was deserted, except for Tifas cat, Ruby. Now Cloud was actually worried. If they weren't anywhere in house, then they'd have to been somewhere in the city! If they were in city, who knows that kind of danger they could be in! It's true the only part of Midgar that was inhabitied was that small section that had been rebuilt, but who knows what creeps could lurk in the the ruined slums of the large city.  
Without Mako energy, there wouldn't be any monsters. They were only there because of the energy that had drawn them to the great metal city. There was no more Shinra, so soldiers weren't a problem. However, some bum with a knife could be living in some old pipe down there, just waiting for some unlucky travler to come waltzing by. Clouds heart was pounding as he threw open the chest near the door to the elevator. The stairs were more safe, but he needed to get down there fast!  
As he opened the chest, he gazed at its contents. His armor and old Buster sword sat there, untouched for nearly a decade. This was all he had left of his once great armory, the older Buster! His first and most trustworthy blade! Cloud slung the armor over his shoulder, then grabbed the blade. He stuck it into the sheath that drapped over his back, pushed back his hair (which was not so tall, anymore) and boarded the elevator.  
For a moment, he was afraid it wouldn't work, but after a few seconds, it started to decsend down the long side of the building. At first, it was going very slowly, but then is began to pick up speed and he was halfway down before he even knew it.  
Maybe I should have told Tifa, thought Cloud, she'll be scared when she finds both her kids, and her husband missing.  
The elavator slowed down and stopped at the bottom. The doors parted, and an old bell gave a half hearted click. Cloud dashed out into the foyer and ran down the stairs, his sword clanging against the metal of his armor. Everything in this part of the building was not green. In fact, it was so old and destroyed, it seemed as if the top and bottom of the building were seperate structures entirely, instead of just differnt floors. Cloud hoped that eventually, all of Midgar would be green like his house was.  
Then, after pushing back the doors whose glass panes had long since been blown away, Cloud stepped out unto the street. After glancing several times at what lay before him, Cloud dashed off into the city, calling out the names of little Zack and Aeris. 


	3. Into the Darkness Once More

Chapter Three  
Into the Darkness Once More  
  
Nearly four hours passed, and Clouds search had turned up nothing. There was no sign of them at all! Cloud had gone full circle around the deserted city several times, each time looking over everything and shouting out the names of his children. They were no where to be seen, and Clouds heart was pounding along like a train over the hills. Still, he kept on hollaring and searching on into the night. He was inexhaustable!  
"Aeris! Zack! Where are you!"  
Still, the echo was his only responce.  
"Hey, Aeris! Zack! Come on out!"  
Silence fell upon the streets once more.  
"Ar-r-r-r-r-r-r-ies! Za-a-a-a-a-a-a-ack"  
"Cloud?"  
He stopped dead in his tracks, unsure if he had heard right. He remained still, waiting for a second call.  
"Cloud is that you?"  
"Tifa?"  
"Where are you?"  
"Umm..."  
Now sure it was Tifa he was talking to, Cloud glanced about him for anything that could be used as a sign. Tifa often wandered the city during the day time, looking for things she could salvage and use at home, so he thought she could find him that way. Soon, he spoted an old chopper which had long since ceased functioning.  
"I'm near an old Shinra helicopter. It's all beat up, musta' crashed years ago. You know where that is?"  
"Yeah, stay there! I'm on my way!"  
Cloud sat down on the tail of the old bird whose wings had been clipped nearly a decade ago. After a while, he heard the bounding footsteps of his wife as she came around the corner. To his surprise, she was all decked out in her old fighting uniform, although she wore a long black cloak over it due to the cold. Like Clouds weapons, they had been set aside for so long. From her brass knuckes right down to her red hair ribbon, she was the exact image of how she looked when they met in Midgar that first and fateful day.  
"Ah, thank God!" she exclaimed, "I thought I'd never find you or the kids in this hell hole of a city!"  
"So you haven't seen them either, then?"  
Tifa sighed and her head hung low.  
"No, not a clue to be found. They've got to be here somewhere! I mean, no one can disapear!"  
"Yeah," sighed Cloud and turned around to face the streets, "C'mon, let's get goin'! We've gotta' find them soon, like you said, no one can disapear!"  
Cloud started down the road, followed closly by Tifa.  
"Do you think they're just playing some sick game with us? I mean, that they're hiding in some building, giggling as we walk miles and miles in circles looking for them while they giggle and snicker!"  
Cloud thought this over in his head as he poked his head around a corner alley. There was nothing, so he turned back to Tifa.  
"Honestly, I don't think so. I mean, I know they misbehave a lot, but they've got enough common sense to realize what they're putting us through. I put more trust into them that that, you know."  
Tifa sighed and started to walk again.  
"You're right, but even though they might have come when we called, that doesn't mean they're not out here at night when they're supposed to be in bed!"  
"Yeah, I know. When we find them, we're going to have to make sure they don't do this again!"  
"Right!"  
The conversation was pretty much halted there and limited to only sighs of despair and curses of desperation. Mainly, they just walked back and forth down they streets of Midgar, calling out the names of thier kids. Cloud was worried, but very confident that they would soon find them. Tifa was very worried, and she showed it in her voice and her walk. She often wavered and nearly fell when her cries and calls came unanswered. Cloud comforted her.  
"It's gonna' be all right. We're gonna' find them soon, then we're all head back to the house and go to sleep, OK honey?"  
She nodded solemnly, but then her head went sailing up as if it was caught in a burst of wind of hurricane propertions. To Cloud, it seemed her eyes were transfixed on a certain point slightly up and to the left. He turned from her and tried to pinpoint the place of her gaze.  
"What? What is it? Do you see something?"  
Still, she was silent. Before Cloud could say anything else, she had dashed of in front of him like a mad animail. Cloud jogged after her.  
"Tifa? What is it? What do you see? Answer me, Tifa!"  
Tifa had mounted a short flight of stairs and was standing in front of an old beaten doorway which had it's door blown of by some blast ages ago. Soon, she bent over and disappeared from Clouds vision. Dashing around a large obsticale in his path, Cloud ran over to where Tifa was on her knees. He jumped up the stairs, taking three at a time, and was soon standing over her and looking down upon her with a face of worry and deep interest.  
"Tifa? What is it? What have you found?"  
She stood up, something small clasped in her hand. Cloud wanted to jump in the air and scream. The suspense was killing him. Still, he controlled himself and calmed down.  
"What is it? What'd you find there?"  
"This," she said solemnly, and opened her. It took a while for Cloud to realize how it held any significance to the problem at had. It was a small red piece of cloth, and was torn around the edges like it had been ripped of something quickly. Suddenly it hit Cloud, and his eyes widened like two new full moon! It was a piece of cloth from Aeris's dress which Tifa had personally sewn her for her seventh birthday last year. Still, why hadn't Tifa bolted through the doorway. Something told Cloud she knew what in there and didn't like it, but what was it?  
"Right, well, they must be in there then! C'mon honey, let's go get them!"  
Cloud took a bold step past Tifa, but she put her hand on his shoulder.  
"Cloud, before you go in there," said Tifa with a great sense of fright in her voice, "don't you know what's in there?"  
"Well, Zack and Aeris for starters, and that's reason enough for me!"  
"No, what I mean is, don't you recognize this place?"  
Cloud stepped back outside and looked over the surroundings. Even with age and years of decay, he found Tifa was right. All this looked very familiar. However, Cloud just couldn't put his finger on what it was and call up memories for it.  
"I'm drawing a blank dear. What is it?"  
"Mako Recactor No. 7."  
Clouds heart skipped a beat. She was right! This was the reactor he had raided with Barret and the other members of Avalanche. True, when it exploded, it tore all that was inside to pieces, but as it appeared, the top had survived nearly intact from the first blast. Cloud hadn't thought that dead Mako reactors where that much of a worry, and that it was only the live ones that were the problem. What could be the problem with a hunk of metal?  
"Tifa, c'mon. What's the matter? It's just an old building we blew up years ago! There's nothing wrong with it that's not wrong with everything else in this city."  
Tifa was silent for a moment."  
"Yeah, I guess your right," Tifa said, and Cloud started to head it, "but ya' see..."  
Cloud whirled around and faced her.  
"What is it?" Cloud spoke with a very slight, but still appearant, hint of anoyance.  
"Well, I get this bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. Something's wrong about this place, and I don't like it. There's evil here."  
"So what? We're just going to let the kids rot in there? The hell we are!"  
Cloud was mad. He had hardly ever been mad at Tifa, if that is, he had ever, but she was standing here talking about bad vibes and evil spirits while their children could be in real danger just beyond that door.  
"Look, Cloud," Tifa spoke emploringly, and Clouds anger subsided, "all I'm saying is we should watch out backs in there, that's all."  
"You watch my back, I'll watch yours."  
"You got it!"  
Drawing his old buster sword, Cloud entered the old reactor once more and began to desend into the darkness once more...  
  



	4. A Terrible Discovery

  
Chapter Four  
A Terrible Discovery  
  
"Watch it!"  
Tifa just ducked under a beam that had fallen across the path. In the dim light, it was hard to tell between what's a shadow and what's real.  
"Thanks," breathed Tifa, "I wish we had a lamp. All the light we have is what's coming through the old blast holes. I guess the surface wasn't left entirely unscaved. What a dump this place is, huh?"  
Cloud was tapping around in front of him with his sword to see if there was anything there.  
"Yeah, but I think that's from more recent explosions. Remember, Weapon fired on Midgar, and blew the whole top floor of the Shinra building off!"  
Tifa sighed.  
"That house was the ulimate fixer uper."  
For the first time that long and stressful night, Cloud laughed. However, his giggles were cut short when his forehead struck some alien object in the dark.  
"Oww!"  
"Watch your head, dear."  
They continued to travel deeper, moving only several feet every minute. It took them nearly a half an hour to finally reach what appeared to be elevator.  
"This is it," stated Cloud, "this is what goes down to the reactor itself. You think they actually went down there after all the stories we told them about it and all the warnings never to go in there?"  
"I dunno," whimpered Tifa, "but I think we should see. I still have to bad feeling, though. Somethings not right here.'  
"I'm starting to feel it too," said Cloud as he eyed the elevator control panel, "and it's giving me the creeps. It sorta' feels like a presence. Like there's something all around us here, just watching, waiting, listening. Damn, it just feels so errie!"  
Cloud hit the large red button he had only pressed once before. Nothing.  
"What do you think is down there? I mean, how much do you think is still intact?"  
Cloud pressed the buttom several more times.  
"Well, as I remember it, this goes down to a long platform the forms a T-shape. One end is this elevator, the other is the entrace to the reactor, and the third was a seperate way out. We got out that way when we blew this place."  
Still nothing was going on with the controls. Cloud stepped back.  
"Well, we know they didn't go down this way at least," said Tifa, mildly relaxed.  
"Not to be pesimistic, but the elevator could have just gone down once, then not have enough power to come back up. There's probably still some back up electricity in the genorators, but maybe only enough for one trip down and not enough for the return asenstion. They could still be down there, you know. I hope they aren't, but we can't be sure."  
Tifa took a deep breath and looked at the shaft with utter disguist.  
"God, I hope not."  
Cloud sheathed his Buster Sword and put his hands on the old doors. They came apart easilly, but Cloud could feel the springs wanting to close the doors if he removed his hands. The compartment wasn't there. Holding on to the doors, Cloud peered down into the shaft. At the very bottom, he could see the box. The cabels were still connected, so the car could have traveled by power. Cloud took a look around at the rest of the shaft. It was barren, save a few pipe and wires running up and down its sides. There was only one thing to do.  
"Sorry Tifa, but I've got to do this. Stay here. I'll be be back, and hopefully, I'll have Aeris and Zack with me!"  
Before she could say another word, he lept into the open shaft, letting to doors close behind him. He grabbed unto the center cable, hoping he come shimmy down the length of it till he got to the bottom. There was a muffled scream of surprise from Tifa, but Cloud had to ignore it for now. He started to put one hand in below the other as he descened down the wire, all the while keeping his feet firmly wrapped around the wire like a snake coiling in on its prey.  
  
***  
  
After what seemed like an eternity of hanging in mid air, Cloud let himself drop the last few feet unto the roof of the waiting elevator car. Not even pausing for a moment, Cloud bent down and lifted to small trapdoor. Grabbing unto the top, he dropped himself intot he small room, paratrooper style. Sure enough, it was just as he remembered it; a small, dark, dank, and dirty room with many swiches and dials on one side.  
Also, save for himself, it was empty.  
Cloud sighed, wondering when he'd finally find his children. He stood up and opened the door like he had the other one. Again, he felt the pressure of the springs on eithier side of the door. He pulled them apart to an appropriate distance then hopped out unto the ground beyond. However, the doors snapped him in the rear, and he was forced to leap foward in surprise and alarm, grabbing his hiendquarters in pain.  
Now, after the pain had subsided, he began to take in his surroundings. Sure enough, here was the T-Shaped bridge. He couldn't see how the reactor was, since a large fallen object was blocking it's way. The escape route seemed to have been been long since demolished by the blast, and he supposed the elevator was just lucky to have survived. Cloud started to walk down the bridge to get a look at what was left of Reactor No. 7. After a while, it's remnants came into view.  
"Whoa!" exclaimed Cloud. The bridge itself had been broken off after just a few feet of the center line of the T. As for the reactor istelf, the whole thing had been demolished. It lay in a heaping pile below, covered by tons and tons of debries. That part of the slums was gone for good. Not a trace of it was left to see. However, what had caught Clouds eye and made his heart rush, was at the center of it all, in the middle of the destroyed reactor, was a lake of Mako!  
"What the hell?" shouted Cloud, "that was all supposed to flow back into the planet after the reactor was destroyed! What's it still doin' on the surface?"  
Cloud rage session was cut in half when he heard a half muffled cry.  
"Daddy! Daddy!"  
Cloud stood up straight and tall, and started to glance around.  
"Aeris? Is that you?"  
"Daddy! Help! We're trapped! Help! Please!"  
He was begining to pinpoint the sound. It seemed to be coming from the third door of the bridge. Cloud ran over to it and began to inspect it. It was totally demolished, as was the hall behind it, but there seemed to be enough small for someone to crawl through.  
"Aeris! Are you in there? Where's Zack?"  
"I'm here, daddy," shouted the familar voice of his five year old son.  
Thank God, thought Cloud as he got on his hands and knees. After sizing up the hole, he took off his Buster Sword and laid it down beside the opening and began to crawl into it. The path was just a twisted mass of beams and metal all woven together by that great explosion. It was a very tight squeeze, and Cloud imagined just how easy it must have been for Aeris and Zack to come through here. Cloud could just barely fit and he was moving along slowly. He didn't have enough room to lift his head up, so he couldn't see where Aeris and Zack where.  
"Daddy!"  
"Where are you?"  
"We see you Daddy, we're coming."  
Finally, he felt a small hand on his shoulder. He had foud them at last.  
"C'mon kids, let's get outta' here!"  
"No Daddy, the monsters are out there!"  
"Monsters?"  
Cloud froze suddenly.  
"Yeah," started Zack, "those yucky green monsters! They chased us in here! They'll kill us!"  
"Oh, for cryin' out loud," said Cloud quite annoyed, "there aren't any monsters in here. I was just out there. Now c'mon, we're goin' now!"  
Cloud began to back up out of the hole with Aeris and Zack following close behind. It was even harder getting out than it was getting in, and he assumed it would be the same way with getting back up the elevator shaft with no elevator. Soon, he felt more space around his legs, and soon he was squating outside the door. Aeris came hopping out, followed by little Zack. Zack had is stuffed teady bear that he carried everywhere cluched tightly to his chest.  
"Now Aeris, you see any monsters out here?" asked Cloud sternly. Aeris whimpered and stared at her shoes.  
"No, Daddy."  
"Do you any monsters, Zack?"  
"No, Daddy."  
Cloud sighed deeply.   
When would they learn? he thought as he made his way back to the elevator shaft. He supposed it was just another aspect of parenthood. A whole string of rebelious activity would follow, and though that was natural for kids to rebel against their parents, it was particuarly dangerous when you lived in such a dangerous world. Could didn't like to disipline them, but he had to this time, otherwise he'd be down here tommarow night looking for them.  
The elevator doors parted before Clouds muscular arms he stepped between them to ensure that they did not close.  
"C'mon, I can't stand here all day!"moaned Cloud, "Get into the compartment, your mother is waiting at the top."  
Still, niether Aeris nor Zack budged an inch. They stood motionless, backs toward him, staring down the long catwalk they had just come across. Cloud was getting annoyed. Twice his children had disobeyed him today!  
"Aeris, Zack, get in here! We're gonna' go up now and go home!"  
"But... the monsters..."  
"Didn't we just say there weren't any monsters? Huh?"  
"But... Daddy... they're right there..."  
Cloud turned so he had his back pushed up against one side of the door and pushed the other back with his leg.  
"Look, get into the..."  
Clouds command was cut short by what he saw standing about halfway down the long catwalk. There were three of them, and though he couldn't make them out very well, it looked like there were two humans and a large feroious cat! Though what really caught Clouds frightened eye was not what there were or what kind of a threat they posed, but the fact that they were transparent, and the ghostly image that Cloud saw was green!  
They were made of Mako! 


End file.
